Between '89 to '95, I went to multi-dozen trade shows. Four a year sometimes. COMDEX, CES, E3.

I stood around in my cheap suit, in horrible dress shoes, and show off CD-ROM multimedia software.

It got a little better after other, larger companies started putting show personnel in casual-dress uniforms. Golf shirts with logos, khakis, black sneakers, that kind of thing.

What made it all incredibly frustrating is that, while I was working in "high tech" (I mean, gosh, multimedia CD-ROM), it was all about selling and sales and making deals. There was no real interest in the technology, and what it could do, and how it worked.

I eventually got my ass in gear and went to grad school so I could actually work on a development team. While I miss the travel sometimes, I'm so glad to be through with trade shows.

... Perhaps you might be able to (in my case, during the last decade): Win a Palm Pilot, a 27" television, an iPod, $250.00 cash, a Samsung Galaxy 10.1; not to mention occasionally the free food and alcohol (if that's your cup o' tea). Best done when you're underemployed, having a lot of free time.